Syringe Exchange Staff Want to Offer Reproductive Health Care but Face

A qualitative study published in the Harm Reduction Journal (9 October 2026) finds that staff at New York State syringe service programs want to offer sexual and reproductive health care, but face operational barriers. Researchers led by Polly Faust interviewed managers, clinicians, and frontline staff from 14 programs to assess their capacity to meet reproductive health needs of people who use drugs. The study explored education, counseling, supplies, onsite services, and referrals for contraception, prenatal care, abortion, and sexually transmitted infections, emphasizing that results reflect staff perceptions rather than participant health outcomes. Programs already provided some onsite sexual health—particularly HIV prevention—through trust-building, but reproductive care was not systematically embedded, with pregnancy-related services a major weak point.